The Stanger
by Leanin Needles
Summary: A lone highschool student comes looking for a way out of his dangerous past. The only one left of his family. To get away from it all he moves into a new town across the country. Will his past catch up to him? Will he survive? Everyone who crosses his path will be affected. The town of Riverdale will bear witness to the storm, and be changed forever.


Heavy Footsteps echoed throughout the dark and dreary forest. Running. That's all that was on his mind. Get away from this mess as quickly as possible. Keep Going and don't look back.

His fair skin glinting from the moonlight. His midnight brown hair flowing, draped with sweat and covering his eyes.. It was made up of loose curls, cut shorter in the back and on the sides but longer in the front. The mysterious teenager wiped the sweat off his brow, and pushed his hair off of his eyes. His action revealed his eyes, they were a beautiful piercing emerald green, which seemed to glow throughout the night. He had a heart shaped face. His body type was that of an athlete, slim and chiseled, but with very toned muscles and long legs. Cuts littered his body from making contact with trees from the forest.

Still running, the faint sound of gunshots could be heard in the distance. "Shit" he harshly whispered, "I knew I couldn't get away from this easily." He needed a plan. But first, escape was more important, and after that, finding a safe place to spend the night.

Being on the run for hours makes one tired, no doubt about that. Time passed. More running ensued. A gunshot has not been fired for more than an hour now. Finally the search for a safe place to spend the night can begin.

After a tough search through the endless night, he came upon a cave, hidden by dense trees. He makes camp, starts a fire, and then taking some food and water out of his backpack.

Deciding to make this his shelter for the night, he plans out what to do next.

He reaches into his backpack and pulls out an envelope addressed to him from his parents. "I'm gonna miss you guys." he says as tears threaten to fall from his eyes and down his face.

He reads the slightly crumpled paper, and on it there are sets of information.

There are coordinates. They lead to his new home. The next chapter of his life. _'Those coordinates look to be very far from here. Where could they possibly lead to.'_

To the right of the coordinates is a key. He takes the key off the paper gently, the weathered paper making crinkling sounds as he does so. "Typical..." he chuckled lightly, "of course the key looks like this."

The key is an antique, it has a large V, with webs spreading from the letter and connecting it to the rest of the key, which was built around it.

Also attached to the paper is a chain.

He proceeds to take the chain off, ripping the paper as he does so, and puts the key on the chain, and then carefully on his neck.

The sound of metal clashes with metal, as he puts on his neck.

It now sits under his already existing chain, a small gold spider which is on a gold necklace. His chain was passed down from his grandfather, given to him on his 10th birthday. It is the last thing he has to remember his grandfather by. It is said by his grandfather to represent unity and a bond between families. He distinctly remembers him exclaiming, "The next time you see a widow, hold on to her, for her influence will steer you in the right path."

He questioned his grandfather about it, but never received a direct answer, only "When the time is right, your heart will show you the way. You will know in due time."

Still confused by what his grandfather had said to him those many years ago, he dwells on how he now has nothing of his family besides the clothes on his back and the letter in his hand.

On the paper under where the key was, there is a bank number and a pin number under it. The pin number read: 1208. _'Does everything have to relate to me? Why is the pin the same as my birthday, this can't be a coincidence. What's next?'_

Finally, attached at the bottom of the paper was what looked to be a fake ID. It was a California Driver's license, with an updated photo of a look alike on it.

The name on the ID was "Elias Bowman". _'I wonder why my parents got this made… Actually I don't, there is always a reason for what they have done.'_ The rest of the paper is blank.

He checked the envelope again. Inside there was another piece of paper. It was a letter.

 _Dear Cyrus,_

 _If you're reading this, me and your mother are dead. I know right? Seems like something out of a movie._

 _The other piece of paper in the envelope has all the necessary information you need to survive. Please get through this bump in the road of life for us and yourself._

 _Well, to start off, we are all in some deep shit._

 _Mom and I both made a lot of enemies in our life, our business philosophy of any means necessary does that to people. Now since we are gone, these enemies may come after you. They are probably coming after you as you read this._

 _The first thing you need to know is where you are going to live. We are sending you to the only place that is safe. A town across the country called Riverdale._

 _You may be wondering why the hell out of the entire United States are we sending you there. Well it's the only property we have left that is secret._

 _Every other place under our ownership is widely known. Our home in Riverdale has never been inhabited by anyone in the Valeria family, so I'm sorry, but you're going in blind son._

 _No one will know who you are or what your family has done, so I guess it is beneficial to you. I hope you can live here and make a normal life for yourself, and maybe your past won't catch up to you._

 _You'll be an outsider in an area where new people don't move to, and previous land owners don't leave._

 _You are free to make your own choices, but please, whatever you do, try to keep your head down. We may be connected to some of the families already living there, but they do not know about us, only we them._

 _Try to keep it that way for your safety. I want you to live your best life possible. Obviously you now have full control over our family. So you may do with it what you want, whatever that means._

 _My only request of you is to prolong your childhood. Finish school and try to enjoy life without us. There is not much else to say because we are running out of time. I know we have not given you a lot of information but it will have to do. You're on your own now, and I'm sorry it has to be this way._

 _Love,_

 _Mom and Dad_

Cyrus wiped the tears that continued to fall from his eyes. "Now the hard part. How do I get to Riverdale" he whispered out loud to himself.

There was the sound of wind whipping throughout the surprisingly chilly June night, outside of his cave. It was strangely comforting.

Cyrus re-read the letter and committed it to memory, for it is last piece of anything he will have of his parents.

 _'The first thing I'm going to have to do is acquire plane tickets. I have my bank information, so it won't be hard to get money. The hard part is going to be getting the money without being found out, and safely purchasing the plane tickets without anything being traced back to me.'_

"This is going to be an annoying process."

After figuring out the best course of action, Cyrus decided to go to sleep, wanting to wake up before the crack of dawn for his own safety. He needs to get to Riverdale as quick as humanly possible if he wants to live to see the next few days.

* * *

Cyrus yawned as he woke up, and according to his internal body clock, it was about 5 am. The sun still has not risen. Making sure he didn't forget anything in his cave, he trudged out, still sluggish from just waking. The wind died down from last night. Now a cool crisp morning, he looked around attempting to figure out the best place to head.

Heading southeast, He made his way through the forest. The journey was boring, and by the time he made it out of the forest, it was about 9 am. Searching for a main road, he found an atm where he in put his banking information and withdrew only a little amount of money for now. Cyrus needed to stay off the grid, his family's enemies were always watching. Therefore, his first stop was a thrift store that was just around the corner from the atm, needing to find a change of clothes for his normal choice of up-scale items.

Cyrus made it inside the Good Will, passing through the lobby and into the men's section of the store.

Trying to find the most inconspicuous set of clothing, he found a plain black crew neck T-Shirt. Next, he went and found a pair of dark blue loose fitting jeans, and a pair of boring black running shoes.

After trying on the items and making sure they fit, he walked around and found a plain black baseball cap, and then made his way to the register.

The cashier didn't attempt to make small talk, which he was glad for, because he would have just ignored her. She told him the total, and Cyrus paid, but didn't wait for change. He was in and out of the store without opening his mouth once.

Jogging around the corner with his bag of new clothes, Cyrus went behind the store. Making sure there was no cameras, and no one around, he proceeded to strip.

Putting on his new set of clothes, he discarded what he was wearing into the dumpster that was there with him.

Cyrus walked out from the corner, scouring the streets for a pay-phone, staying in the shade and trying to stick with the crowds of people around him.

Finally finding one a couple blocks down, he exchanged money for quarters and then went into the phone booth. Looking up the number for LAX, he made a call.

After being put on hold for 10 minutes, and a lot of quarters later, he finally was able to reach help.

Though staticky, he could understand a woman saying "Hello sir, what can I help you with today?"

Trying to keep his voice down, he mumbled "Yes, Hi Miss, I would like to reserve a plane ticket to LaGuardia Airport in New York"

"Okay, when would you like to fly out?" the clerk asked.

"As soon as possible," he replied, "I was hoping you had tickets for a flight that leaves today."

"Give me one second sir… The soonest flight we have leaves in three hours at 1:07 p.m."

"When does the flight get in?"

"It will arrive at LaGuardia at 7:54. There is a connecting flight in Utah with a layover of about 30 minutes."

"Okay, thank you Miss, I'll take it." he exclaimed, excited his plan had worked out.

"I'll just need you name so I can reserve the flight for you"

Cyrus proceeds to pull his fake ID out of the envelope he received from his parents and reads off the name.

"My name is Elias Bowman"

"Alright Mr. Bowman, and how are you going to pay with us."

"I would like to pay with cash."

"Okay, and would you like to check any baggage in?"

"No ma'am, I am just taking myself" getting antsy, he started tapping his foot.

"Are you travelling one way or a round trip"

"Just a single ticket."

"And will be flying first class, business class, or coach with us today"

"Plain old coach please"

"Okay, your flight total is 197 dollars. Please visit the United service desk one hour before your boarding time to pay for your ticket."

"Thank you miss. Have a nice day."

Cyrus hung up the pay phone, and left hurriedly. He wanted to quickly get to his last destination before going the airport.

Walking a couple more blocks, he arrives at a convenience store, and enters. The bells on top of the door chime as he steps in. He goes to the counter, where the item he needs lays. He hands it to the man behind the counter, pays for it, and leaves before the man could even offer him his change back.

Cyrus walks a couple more blocks until he reaches an obscure alleyway. He goes inside, and brings out his purchase, a lighter. He makes sure he commits the letter and the other ancient looking paper with it's necessary information to memory, and burns it, removing any trace of its existance from the earth.

He has nothing left of his parents, but it is for the better.

Cyrus walks a few more blocks until he finds another atm, and withdraws the required money for his airline ticket and whatever else he needs.

He then walks away from the atm and up the block to find a cab. When he finds an open one, he gets in and asks to be taken to LAX. For the rest of the ride he sits in silence.

* * *

Cyrus arrived at the airport, and stealthily enters, still sticking to the crowds. He walks to the United Airlines desk.

Cyrus speaks up, "Excuse me, I reserved a ticket to LaGuardia Airport earlier this morning over the phone"

Looking up, the man behind the desk looks up, "Okay sir, what is your name"

"Elias Bowman"

"Okay Mr. Bowman, may I see some ID"

"Yes you can…"

Cyrus pulls out his Wallet which contains his fake ID. He hands the ID to the man.

"Here you go."

"Okay..." The United worker pauses, "Thank you."

Cyrus takes back his ID from the worker.

"Now all I need is your payment of 197 dollars and you can be on your way"

Cyrus pulls out cash from his back pocket, "Alright, here is the exact amount"

The man counts the money, a hint of surprise showing on his large, rounded face.

"Okay, it's all here. Here is your boarding pass."

"Thank you, have a nice day."

"You too Mr. Bowman."

Cyrus left the counter, and went through the Security Check. After Security, he made it to his flight gate and sat down.

After waiting for 30 minutes, he was able to board the plane. After boarding, Cyrus fell asleep, hoping for this trip to end as quick as possible.

* * *

After the layover in Utah and the continuation flight to New York, he finally made it after almost 7 hours.

Thankfully only having the backpack on his back, and not needing to pick up checked baggage, he was able to leave quickly.

He walked out of the cool airport, into the warm and humid New York weather. Cyrus then waited on the line for taxis, and after a short amount of time, he got into one. He told the taxi to drive him to Rockland County.

His thought process of not being driven directly to Riverdale is he still needs to be carefull.

The taxi ride took about an hour to get there.

"Right here is good." Cyrus said to the taxi driver after sitting in comfortable silence the entire ride.

The driver peered into his mirror, looking confused "Are you sure? We're in the middle of nowhere"

"Yes." Cyrus stated simply.

Still in disbelief, the driver pulled over, "Alright then, the bill is 85 dollars and 73 cents."

"Here is 100 dollars, keep the change please." Cyrus exited the taxi in a hurry

"Thank you sir, you have a nice night"

The back seat door was slammed shut and the car sped off. He started the long walk. His feet dragging along the gravel road, tired from his long day. After two and a half hours, Cyrus came into a clearing.

There was a sign in the distance, as he got closer, the words on it became less blurry.

Cyrus perked up with excitement as he continued to get closer to the billboard.

After another minute, he was standing just 10 feet in front of the sign.

Cyrus looked up, and read aloud:

"Welcome to Riverdale, the town with pep!"

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

Hello there... Welcome to my first story! I've been reading works on this site for years and years, but I've finally decided to have a go at writing a story.

Constructive criticism is highly appreciated. I've always wanted to have works of my own before, and I've had many ideas, but I've never pulled the trigger until now.

I don't really know where I am going with this story yet, but I have many ideas for it. Still not sure if I want to follow cannon, or if I want to go my own route. I'm leaning towards having a cannon basis, but with my own twists, turns, and such.

I'm also planning on writing this story only in the perspective as Cyrus, through the perspective of the outsider to the town of Riverdale

I know this wasn't great, but I hope it wasn't too terrible. As my writing experience increases, I hope my writing can get better!

I'm not sure on average how long my chapters will become, but I think this is a good length for my first one.

Cyrus will be paired with someone from the town of Riverdale, my favorite character of course, and I hope I can write the romance well!

My updates will come out as quickly as possible, So, please, all of you who decide to visit, bear with me as I figure out how to become a better writer, and hopefully you all enjoy what I create!


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